A CONTRIBUTION 



TO OUK KN(t\VLi;i)(;K OF THE 



FOOD FISHBS 



OREGON COAST 



FROM SPKCIMEN.S COLLECTED KY 



B. J. BRETHERTOJN^ 



REPORT OF STATE BIOLOGIST 



JULY, 1900 




SALEM, OREGON 
W. II. LEEDS, STATE PRINTER 

1{)0U 



A CONTRIBUTION 



TO DITK KN()\VI^EDGK OF TIIK 



FOOD FISHES 



OREGON COAST 



FKOM Sl'EC'IMKNS COJjIjECTKD 11 V 



B. J. BRETHERTON 



REPORT OF STATE BIOLOGIST 



^5 



JULY, 1900 




SAliEM, OREGON 

W. H. LEEPS, STATE PRINTER 

15)00 






S\1 

p7 



Z^^ 



A CONTRIBUTION TO OUR KNOWLEDGE 

Of THE FOOD FISHES OF THE 

OREGON COAST. 



Biological Laboratory, ) 

University of Oregon, > 

July 15, 1900. \ 

His Excellency^ T. T. Gecr, Salem, Ore</on : 

The following notes are based upon a collection of our coast 
fishes made by Bernard J. Bretherton, of Newport, Oregon, 
presented to the State University, and identified by the writei'. 
The present collection is to be regarded as a nucleus for further 
aggregations, representing in time, it is hoped, all the species 
of fish in Oregon. 

To anyone who has made a study of ichthyology it is appar- 
ent that it would be out of place, and an extravagance to in- 
troduce here the long, technical analyses given in scientific 
treatises upon the subject, and it has seemed best to give, in 
each case, a brief popular description, which, with the aid of 
the illustration may help one to recognize the sj)ecies. 

It will be noted that many of our more common fishes are 
not listed, the flounders for instance, and some others familiar 
to our citizens. In all probability the collector has left some 
of the more easily obtainable forms until later, with the thought 
that he can easily secure them at his convenience. Mr. Breth- 
erton has made careful notes on the colors of the fresh fish, 
and has, further, endeavored to list the stomach contents as 
throwing some light upon their food habits. His notes are 
given in quotation. Coll. No. means "collector's number" 
referring to the number wdiich came with the specimens. 

In the case of a few doubtful species my identification was 
either corroborated by the United States Fish Commission or 

l.ofC. 



4 FOOD FISHES OF THE OREGON COAST. 

the correct name given. The commission has also furnished 
us with six cuts at cost price. Acknowledgment of these 
courtesies is hereby tendered. 

It may not be out of place to mention our experience in 
preserving fish in a way to best retain their colors. We have 
found that if the fresh specimens are placed in very weak for- 
m;iSSii (3% made from 40% stock solution) and after remain- 
ing for a week or so in this, changed to a fresh solution of the 
same strength and jDlaced on exhibition most of the colors are 
wonderfully preserved, and the liquid does not yellow with 
age as does alcohol in which fish are preserved. 

In addition to this growing collection of Oregon fish, the 
State University has over fifty specimens from the Columbia 
River Basin presented a few years ago by the United States 
Fish Commission. 

Respectfully, 

F. L. WASHBURN, 

State Biologist. 




KKi. 1.— CALIFORNIA SMELT. 




FKt. 2.— HERRIN(i, (\ MirdhiJis. 



FOOD FISHES OF THE OREGON COAST 



CALIFORNIA SMELT. 

{Alhrrinujisis Cali/orniciis — GlRAKD.) 

About eig-hteen inches lonu-, a '"translucent g-reen" with a somewhat sil- 
very or lead-colored lateral stripe; some yellow on g-ill covers. Eye small. 
body elongate. One specimen collected. Given bj^ Jordan and Evermann as 
very abundant on coast of California from Cape Mendocino to San Diegfo; 
found in schools near shore, and an important food fish. See Fig. 1. 



CALIFORNIA TOMCOD. 

[Microfjadus proximus — Girard. ) 

This little fish really needs no description. Just why it should be desig-- 
nated California Tomcod is a question, for it is in summer one of our most 
abundant, though by no means the best, of our salt water food fishes. Very 
common from Monterey to Alaska. Two specimens: Collector's Nos. 4 and 
5. ''August 10. Silvery white: pale brown on dorsal surface. Contents of 
stomach indefinable." 



CALIFORNIA IIERRINCx. 

(Clupea pollasii—CvviKR and Vai.enciennes.) 

Bluish above: silvery on sides and below. From sixteen to eighteen inches 
long. Abundant from San Diego to Kamschatka. A well-known fish on our 
coast and fully as abundant here as in California. Two specimens collected, 
Nos. 6 and 7. "x\ugust 10. Stomachs empty."' Fig. 2 represents (\ niiraJdis, 
in general appearance resembling the species under discussion. 



CALIFORNIA SARDINE. 

( (^lupdnodon cceruleus — Girard.) 

Another misnomer, for. under the name of •'Herring," this and the pre- 
ceding are at times exceedingly abundant in our bays, and very highly es- 
teemed as food fishes. In general appearance like the last, but larger. — 
about twelve inches. Found from Puget Sound to Magdalena Bay. Two 
specimens. Nos. 8 and 9. "Norway Herring, a larger and plumi)er fish than 
the preceding." See middle figure in Plate I: photographed from a s]ieci- 
men presei'ved in foi'malin. 



FOOD FISHES OF THE OREGON COAST. 



ALASKA GREEN FISH. 

( Hcxagrammos octfigraiimni.i.) 

Called "sea trout" by our fishermen. Varies much in coloration, accord- 
ing- to ag-e, etc., and likely to be confused with H. Stellcrl, the "Greenling.'' 

Two specimens, 18 and 16. 

No. 18. "Sea trout — September 7, 18i)9. Dorsal surface and sides light 
slate, blotched with pale green, each blotch surrounded by several dark 
umber spots; ventral surface, lighter: pectoral fins spotted with pale mus- 
tard yellow. 

No. 16. " Medicine fish. Ventral surface, brownish yellow with greenish 
tinge. Dorsal surface, burnt umber. Stomach contents, mussels. "" 



ROCK TROUT, GREENLING, BOREGAT, BODIERA. 

( Hexagrammus, decagrnmmus — Pai^las.) 

Much like the last and liable to be confused with it. Sexes very unlike 
in color. The females are extremely variable in coloration. I quote from 
Jordan and Evermann to show the great variation in individuals and the con- 
sequent confusion among local fishermen: "Adults highly colored; the 
males with large sky-blue spots ; the females with smaller red or orange 
spots ; young sometimes plain brown with dai'k humeral spots. Males clear 
brownish olive of varying shade, often tinged with bluish or coppery and 
vaguely blotched, often with small blue spots ; head and anterior part or 
body with rather large sky-blue spots, each surrounded by a rusty ring, 
these smaller and more numerous on the top of the head ; lips with bluish 
spots, upper fins brown, mottled ; ventrals and anal dusky bluish ; pectorals 
dark, both rays and membranes crossed by sharply defined whitish reticula- 
tions, so that the fins appear to be profusely spotted with white. Females 
brownish, somewhat tinged with reddish, closely covered wath round spots 
of a reddish-brown ; these spots usually quite small and uniform over the 
whole body, back and sides ; dorsal fin spotted on the scaly part, the fins 
otherwise plain reddish or bluish ; the ventral usually dusky; pectorals light 

orange, without markings. Other females have the ground 

color slaty blue, with round orange spots considerably larger than usual and 
becoming vermiculations on the head ; dorsal fin orange, clouded at base 
with blue ; soft dorsal edged with bluish ; pectorals plain orange ; belly 

white. These vary into the ordinary type Length, eighteen 

inches. Abundant from Point Conception to Kodiak Island, Alaska, es- 
pecially about San Francisco. A common food fish. See Fig. 3, also upper 
figure in Plate I ; photographed from a specimen preserved in formalin. 







■iiii 



FOOD FISHES OF THE OREGON COAST. 



Is it any wondei' that these individuals of the same species receive differ- 
ent common names '? I give collector's description of color and his notes in 
detail to illustrate the misconceptions arising from these striking- variations. 

Five specimens, Nos. 3, 11, 12, 13, 1"). 

Nos. 11 and 12. March 24. — Sea trout. Pins, pale yellowish brown: ven- 
tral surface, white ; sides and dorsal surface, slate thickly spotted with color 
of fins. Stomach contents (No. 12), large Crustacea. 

No. 3. "Kelp fish. Color, dark umber mottled with light green: ventral 
surface, pale yellow ; fins, slate gray. 

No. 13. "Kelp fish. March 24. Pale brown clouded .with black on head: 
fore part of body blotched with peacock blue. Each blotch with several 
black dots ; fins, black. 

No. 15. ''Medicine fish."' March 24. Dark brown on dorsal surface fad- 
ing into terra cotta, everywhere blotched with gray : folds under jaw bril- 
liant bluish o-reen. 



LANT, LAUNCE. SAND EEL. 

( A inmodytoi perHonat lis — Gikard.) 

It is not an unusual thing for summer visitors at the seashore to find that 
the receding tide has left the beach strewn with little cylindrical fish about 
four inches long, of a clear translucent green color with silvery sides, a 
sharp snout, with underjaw projecting, and a forked tail. This is the Sand 
Launce, not only attractive from its coloration, from an aesthetic point of 
view, but also a most excellent pan fish. They burrow in the sand to escape 
their numerous enemies, and are frequently found in this position where the 
tide has left them, their heads only showing above the surface. If the 
morning sti*oller on the beach is wise he will gather all of these he can, and 
with an admiring glance possibly at a school darting about in some im- 
prisoning beach pool, he will hurry home and give directions for their cook- 
ing. Cleaning these little fish is soon over with. Hold one by the nape 
with thumb and forefinger of left hand ; then with scissors, or with fingers 
of other hand, dexterously remove the head, and at the same time the at- 
tached entrails. Wash the fish, dry, flour, and fry in pan with about fifty 
of his fellows, and the next morning will find all the members of the family 
on the beach hunting for Launce. Abundant on sandy shores of Atlantic 
and Pacific coasts. See Fig. 4. 



BROWN ROCK FISH. 

(Sebastodes auriculatus — Girard.) 

One specimen received. Collector's No. 2. — "August 2. Color, mottled, 
orange, yellow, with reddish cast on dark umber ground. Ventral surface 
lightest. Lower lip yellow. Stomach contents, fragments of fish. ' ' Length, 



8 FOOD FISHES OF THE OREGON COAST. 



seven inches. Given as very abundant from Cape Mendicino to Cerros Is- 
land. See lower lig-ure i'late I ; from a photograph of a specimen preserved 
in formalin. 



YELLOW-TAILED ROCK FISH. 
(Sebastodes JU(vidui>—A\iiR».) 

A strong, heavy fish, the so-called ''Black Sea Bass'' of our Oregon Coast. 
Olive green or blaekish. Twenty-four inches long. Mouth large, strong; 
lower jaw projecting. Dorsal fin continuous, but indented; spines of fin 
slender. Two specimens. Collector's Nos. IT and 22. "Black Sea Bass. 
Ventral surface, dirty white; dorsal black; stomach empty.'' See Fig. 5. 



BLUE PERCH, STRIPED SURF FISH, SQUAW FISH. 

{TaenUoca lateralis — Agassiz.) 
{Ditrema ktteraie— Gunther.) 

This species and its relative, Damalidithys argyromnms, the White Perch 
or Porgee are almost too common on our shore to need description. They 
are both members of a viviparous family, the Embiotocoidte or surf fishes. 
In the summer season when they are carrying their young their flesh is poor 
and tasteless, though they readily take the hook and specimens all the way 
from one pound to six pounds are caught oft' the rocks, the tyro fisherman 
being sometimes astonished to see young fish, two inches long, slipping from 
the parent and flopping on the rocks beside him, quite capable of swimming 
if placed in water. This family is so interesting, that I quote from Jordan 
and Evermann as follows: ''Viviparous. The young are hatched within the 
body, where they remain closely packed in a sack-like enlargement of the 
oviduct analogous to the uterus' until born. These foetal fishes bear at first 
little resemblance to the parent, being closely compressed and having the 
vertical fins exceedingly elevated. At birth they are from one and a half 
to two and a half inches in length and similar to the adult in appearance, 
but more compressed, and red in color. Since the announcement of their 
viviparous nature by Prof. Louis Aguisiz in 1853 and by Dr. William P. 
Gibbon in 1854 these fishes have been objects of special interest to zoologists. 
Fishes of the Pacific Coast of North America inhabiting bays and the surf 
on sandy beaches. One species {IlystemcamiJHs trasl-i) inhabits fresh water: 
three others {Ditrema temmincki, I),smittii, and Xcoditrema rausonetti) are 
found in Japan. These species reach a length of fi'om six to eighteen inches 
and are very abundant where found. * * * Most of them feed on Crus- 
tacea, but one genus (Aheona) is partly or wholly herbivrous. Genera 17: 
species about 20." 

The pavement-like teeth, above and below, in the back part of the mouth 
(phai'yngeal teeth, used for crushing hard substances), are extremely inter- 
esting and well worth examination on the part of the fisherman interested 




FIG. 5.— BLACK ROCKFISH, to illustiatc tlie group. 




FKi. (i.— THK WHITE PERCH. 



FOOD FISHES OF THE OREGON COAST. 



in biolog-ical phenomena. One specimen, Collector's No. 20. "Squaw fish. 
Head golden yellow, spotted irreg-ularly with brilliant blue ; entire body 
striped long-itudinally with alternate golden yellow and brilliant blue. A 
distinct- black median stripe from upper corner of gill opening to base of 
tail. Stomach contains small Jell II ,fisJt." See Fig. (1 



SCULPIN, BULL HEAD. 
( Enophrys 6i*-on— Girard.) 

A type of a large and variable family known as Cottidip, the Sculpins. 
There are about sixty genera in this group and over two hundred species, a 
few of which are found in fresh water. Of the salt water forms most of the 
species are shore fish, but some descend to great depths. No extended de- 
scription of the Sculpin is necessary, for any fisherman catching one for the 
first time, would feel instinctively, as he landed his bony prize (?) and sur- 
veyed it bristling with horns, its head flat and wide, its mouth gaping, and 
its generally repulsive appearance, that he had caught "a sculpin." 

The species under discussion is very common from San Francisco to Sitka. 
Not used for food. One specimen received, Collector's No. L "August 1. 
1898, Bull Head, or Sculpin. Color dark umber, irregularly mottled with 
light lemon yellow. Stomach packed full of young kelp weed." 



SAND FISH. 

( Trichodon tricJtodon—TUjESiUS.) 

One specimen sent by Mr. Toner, Yaquina City, the only one observed by 
the writer. A striking fish, about eight inches long, of a general silvery 
color; brownish above: a brown streak on side, broken toward the head. 
Peculiar mottlings between head and first dorsal fin, and irregular brown 
markings on back at base of fins. Dark line below or at lower edge of eye. 
Habitat, North Pacific, on sandy shores, from Monterey to Behring Sea. 
burying itself in sand. 

Comparison of the straight line, shown with some figures, with the picture 
of the fish, enable one to estimate the length of the species in inches. 



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^YCLhthtt/5 




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:^v 



"By 



PI. ATI': I. 



OCT 25 1900 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




002 824 408 3 ^ 



